Motshelo (Money Saving Communities)
Submitted by joonsbaek on Wed, 06/29/2011 - 4:16amCountries
BotswanaTags
community bankingThemes
do-it-yourselfLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
Individuals within community (mostly women)
Background/ Context:
Not all people are illegible or have access to formal financial service providers such as banks. Even if they did, many feel the financial service providers’ charges are too high and terms of payment are not affordable to them. Within the community, members of Motshelo are able to create a sense of financial security and inter reliance on one another to settle debts and purchase essentials.
Case Description:
Motshelo is a household saving and borrowing activity that is a popular alternative to formal saving because the requirements for accessing credit are not as cumbersome as those offered by financial institutions. This initiative provides financial security and is a trust based. It acts like a social network. Each participating individual within the group contributes an agreed sum of money and can draw loans from the pot for necessities such as school fees, uniform and other emergencies. The interest charged by borrowing money from the scheme will be shared among members at the end of the end.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
The benefits to the members are reliability, trust and security of money.
VILA DAS CANOAS COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM
Submitted by joonsbaek on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 9:20amCountries
BrazilThemes
sustainable tourismLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
he main actors are the inhabitants of Vila das Canoas, who offer room in their houses for the lodging of the tourists. A local group, led by Eneida Santos, organizes this receptive tourism initiative. This project receives support from the Afro-Brazilian Incubator (IA) and from the Gênesis Institute of PUC-RJ. It has also the support for advertising and divulgation from Rio de Janeiro municipal government.
Background/ Context:
The idea of lodging tourists in the houses of inhabitants of Vila das Canoas led the local community to organize themselves and mobilized them to carry out tourist activities with distinctive characteristics. The objective is to generate income for the community and, at the same time, to make possible the exchange of knowledge and the dialogue with the tourists (100% are foreign). Another goal is to enable the inhabitants to develop a new image of their home place (with an increase of self-esteem). Due to the place’s vicinity to natural attractions: Pedra da Gávea, Pepino beach and Tijuca Forest, this initiative also includes ecotourism activities. It thus helps to increase the community’s conscience about ecological issues.
Case Description:
The idea is to offer lodging for tourists in the houses of inhabitants of Vila das Canoas community, to show another image of the shantytown, to generate income inside the community and to facilitate the exchange of experience and knowledge, particularly in the area foreign languages learning. This endeavor is community-based tourism initiative located in a shantytown.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
Vila das Canoas community-based receptive tourism initiative fits in the Project for being an endeavor of the community itself that dared to consider to set in their home place a different activity (tourism and lodging in a shantytown). The consequences of the initiative brought benefits to the whole community.
COMMUNITY DAY-CARE MUNDO INFANTIL
Submitted by joonsbaek on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 9:12amCountries
BrazilTags
Day-care centerThemes
educationLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
Responsible and leader: Some women of the community, having as coordinator Adriana Maria da Silva and Marlene Pereira de Castro. Providers: contracted members of the initiative and professionals. Users: The children with families who can, contribute with a monthly fee of R$20,00. Children of families of the community who can’t afford the fee are accepted too. The center currently is without financing or regular aid. Sporadically it receives donations from individuals or private education institutions, as the Corcovado School (food and cleaning material) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio De Janeiro (capacity building for educators). Also it receives aid from companies as the C&A and other also external agents to the community: Institute Promundo (assistance in project elaboration) and CIESPI - International Center of Studies and Research on Infancy (qualification courses). Connections: the initiative already had support of the government and of FIA (Foundation for Infancy and Adolescence), but currently does not count on the support of any organization.
Background/ Context:
The day-care center has its origin in the necessity of the families to have a place where to leave their children while they go to work. The initiative begun with a group of five mothers who decided they would leave their children in one house under the guard of other women of the community who did not work out. The children were each day in a house. With the objective to set a day-care center with more infrastructure, in a property destined to this function, these mothers had started to produce and sell snacks, handicrafts, etc. as form of raising capital. With the collected money, and a bank loan, they managed to buy a dedicated house.
Case Description:
Formed by initiative of Santa Marta community, aiming at take care and to alphabetize the children of the community, giving an accessible alternative for the families so that it became possible for the mothers of these children to have a job, knowing that the children would be safe while they are working.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
The initiative left begun of a group of women in the slum quarter Santa Marta who, were mobilized to construct a day-care center, with the objective to have a place to put their children to be while they were working, improving the daily life not only of them but also of the relatives who helped to take care of the children, of the future mothers of the community, and of the proper children that have conditions for developing more good, or either, this initiative transformed all the community, improving the future perspectives.
COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE UNIT ÁGUA SANTA
Submitted by joonsbaek on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 8:59amCountries
BrazilThemes
health-careLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
Promoters: The main leader is Mother Tânia , who has a place where many times the meetings occur, and she organizes the courses of formation of health agents. Alongside her there are diverse women ( communitarian leaders) that work in the community where they live as health agents.
Providers: As in this case it is information that is given by the communitarian agents it almost does not have providers or supply material. The little material of information and awareness which is used, beyond condoms is supplied by the NGO CRIOLA.
Other people and organisations involved: NGo CRIOLA (Institution that fights for the rights of black women) is the main partner of the health nucleus, it provides material and small financial aid. It also has the support of the ABIA Association that provides the qualification courses of health agents. Users: The women of the community who are instructed, acquire knowledge and mobilized in the health question. Networks: constitution of an integrated health nucleus to other communitarian health nuclei of other quarters.
Background/ Context:
The nucleus is formed by a net of women who developsr activities of education, awareness and orientation in the area of woman health. They mobilize diverse communities (cabeça de porco, vinte e sete, slum 18,matriz slum, caixa d´água among others) of the Água Santa neighborhood, for the auto-examination and the accomplishment of diagnostic, independently of the public and/or private health service networks, spreading new practical habits for the collective health, mainly in the areas of sexually transmissible diseases, precocious pregnancy and breast cancer.
Case Description:
The support groupworks trough lectures and meetings of the members of the nucleus and the community, and visits of the communitarian agents to the houses of the inhabitants of the Água Santa Community. They give clarifications, awareness and self aid in - the diagnostic of illnesses and in health habits.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
The initiative effectively started of a group of people in the ÀguaSanta community, that got tired to wait for some action of the government in the area of the health, and the communities in the neighborhood had to organize themselves to obtain improvement of health to all. The health is a sustainability element that is present in the daily life of all.
PINKER: Finding partners or group to have daily life action together
Submitted by joonsbaek on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 8:53amCountries
ChinaThemes
community buildingLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
Pinkenet is an E-platform where participants could publish and share the information for finding the partners and group. It was organized by several sections to make searching easier.
Participants are mostly Yong people who leave from their families and hometown to new cities to work and live. Lack of families and friends makes them life boring and alone.
Background/ Context:
With industrialization, the population of cities grow fast with new immigrations. Most of them are the young who leave from their families and hometown to new cities to work and live. Lack of families and friends makes them life boring and alone. Then those young start to connect with others who are in the similar situations through some channels like pinkenet to have activities together like dinner, entertainment, travel, shopping, sports, game and etc. By those activities, those young peoples increase their life quality and make more friends, have more social fabric connections.
Case Description:
With E-platform, urban people (mostly young) could find partners or group who they don’t know each other to have activities together. With economic prices, Pinker participants would have more social life and social connection and to have some services and experiences, which increase the life quality to individuals and solidarity to society.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
Those urban young find a solution for themselves to re-establish the social connections in new places with an economic and easy and sustainable way.
PINCHE: Car pool for going to work
Submitted by joonsbaek on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 8:48amCountries
ChinaTags
carpoolingLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
Owner of car who shares his/her care and provide service of transportation to others without much additional cost but with contribution from them;
Participations without car have a high quality and economic solution;
Pinche web: different kinds of E-platform which enable group building of car pool;
Background/ Context:
Urban transportation is a big social problem in cities today: too slowly by auto bus, too crowded by metro, too expensive by taxi, too exhausted to own a car. There is a big potential need of new solutions more comfortable, economic, convenient, fast and accessible, which is car pool could contribute. Once more residents have their own cars, car pool is becoming popular rapidly. With different communication channel, residents look for others who homes and companies could be organized in one routine and go to work together with a car.
Case Description:
Several residents whose homes and companies could be organized in one routine share a car of one of them for going to work. A good transportation solution is provided for those people who haven’t their own car, which does in crease the life quality much in practise. Those owners of car in groups share much economic pressure with others. The transportation pressure in rush time decreases. Social connections between residents increase.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
It is totally self-organized with strong motivation and sustainability: to have the services instead of the products.
AGRI-FOND ASSOCIATION
Submitted by joonsbaek on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 8:40amCountries
ChinaLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
Promoters (Zhou Jinzhang, Luo Zhehong and Peng Hui) are three young people who had some personal experiences on countryside tour and food. They promote this action with strong initiatives
Users are those urban citizens who have more consciousness on food quality and incline of countryside food lifestyle. With this network, they could find good solutions with reasonable price.
Providers are those individual farmers who prefer to keep (at least partly) traditional agriculture.
Background/ Context:
Today, people in cities have more interest in rural life and traditional and high quality food (slow food) especially with the industrialization of agriculture and pollution of environment. But there is no information platform for that and no credit system at the beginning.
Ainonghui found some farmers who prefer do traditional agriculture (rice, vegetable and poultry) with traditional/local seeds and by natural method and agree on the bargain of products and service. They tried to organize the natural agriculture recourses and keep the quality of products and process. On the other hand, they make more urban people who have interest in it involved in the network to booking and buy the products and service. They also open a showroom/ store to be as a connection between suppliers and consumers.
Case Description:
It’s a community support agriculture action and system to connect consumers who have need of high quality food and countryside experience with small agri-producers who keep the traditional species and planting way. On one hand, it makes urban peoples in this community accessible to have food with high quality and special tastes by a reasonable price. And they also could have fantastic experiences of countryside life if they like; on the other hand, with these stable consumers, the individual farmers could have some income and keep their traditional agriculture, which has long term meaning for protection of species diversity.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
From a micro-scale, those people (promoters, users and provider) self organize a network to connect a gap between the specific need of slow food and week traditional agriculture, which are ignored in general. Furthermore, they establish and grow the trust system in their network.
Omaabi – Self help community
Submitted by joonsbaek on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 7:55amCountries
EstoniaLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
a self-help community of elderly retired people in Estonia
Background/ Context:
Estonia is at a political stage when lots of the population feel insecure. Pensioners and widows find it especially difficult to find their place in today’s fast-moving society. During the political changes of the past 12 years ago, society has become more focused on the young. The welfare system is not very highly developed – pensions are low and lot of old people have financial problems.
Case Description:
(source: Maris Korrol & Krista Thomson, 2005)
The self-help community of elderly retired people runs a shop and a little diner, providing opportunities to socialise, sell home-made handicrafts and eat out for the lowest prices in town. The community began as a few pensioners making handicrafts together, and selling them when they got the current building. It now has 48 pensioner members. Its building, near the city centre, with a ground floor acting as handicraft shop, cafeteria and hairdresser. The cafeteria is where elderly and lonely people meet up, hear live music once or twice a week, and eat very cheaply. The prices in the handicraft shop are also low. Most of the goods are made by members, with some from outside craftsmen, but the shop will only sell beautiful things. Self help was created to give old people a new lease of life and a new sense of ‘family’. Self Help Community is always looking for outside help, because their financial situation is not quite enough to keep going independently.
The organisation has been going since 1992 and is working well. Whether it can keep going in the future depends on money. If the government could give just a little support the group would have no problems carrying on. Profit is only made in the handicraft shop, which keeps a percentage of the price to pay for electricity and firewood for heating. Every member works in the shop for free, although they might get some food stamps for the cafeteria, and does a shift three or four times a month.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
Society. Elderly people who feel in good shape rich, in experience, can keep being active and useful in the neighbourhood. They can help others and the others help them. A very important task of the Self Help Community is maintaining Estonian national handicrafts, keeping the tradition going and passing knowledge to younger people. Now it has joined the EU, Estonia, a small nation, needs to keep its own cultural traditions and national character.
Environment. The handicrafts use local and traditional materials and resources, and their manufacture suits the local environment.
Buchticket - Book Exchange
Submitted by joonsbaek on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 7:48amCountries
GermanyThemes
cultural activitiesLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
Buckticket (a company), users
Background/ Context:
Most books we own are read only once. Afterwards they are mostly stored unused on the shelf. Giving them away as a present is not possible, so what to do with them? The idea of the book exchange was started by a group of five actors as a means of sharing books among themselves. They never imagined it would become such a big success, with a constantly increasing number of members. The technology was organised by a young media agency which organised job searches on the internet.
Case Description:
(source: Meroni Ed., 2005)
The website Buchticket provides a free service offering thousands of book titles for exchange. Users have to become members of Buchticket. Exchanges are then based on trust and a so-called ‘book ticket’, like a virtual coupon, which enables users to choose a book. One ticket is worth one book. To get more tickets, members have to contribute books of their own. If somebody is interested in a member’s book, Buchticket sends the book-owner an e-mail and they send the book in the post (Germany has a special low price for book postage).
The service has existed since 2002 and it is unique. Other exchange formats exist but not for books, and without the integrated forums and social platforms. The interface works perfectly, and needs very little maintenance. When it started, the providers thought they would have to invent fictional members to attract other users. This was not necessary and by 2005 18,000 members were using the platform actively. This number is still increasing without any marketing or advertising.The solution providers are considering extending the service abroad, and including DVDs, software and media products. A network of friends and supporters provides service and web hosting. The platform earns no money.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
Society. Society benefits from sharing things and the platform for communicating with each other. Without a technical platform this service would not be possible, and without the community and chat functions people would not use the service. In this way, IT and community tools are spreading sustainable ideas.
Environment. Fewer books need to be produced. Statistically people buy or borrow a new book when they’ve just finished a previous one, meaning that reading encourages more reading. By offering people easy access to new “used” books, the idea of using instead of owning diffuses into people’s minds.
Työ & Toiminta - Job and Action Association (J&AA)
Submitted by joonsbaek on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 7:41amCountries
FinlandLink:
Stakeholders / Promoters:
A social enterprise, minority groups in Finland (the unemployed, immigrants, rehabilitated, and disabled), RReuse (a network of social firms), consumers, Municipality of Helsinki
Background/ Context:
The association was founded by a group of unemployed people in Vuosaari, a multicultural area of the city. At the time, unemployment associations were popular because of the economic recession, and provided somewhere for people (mainly men) to do social activities such as fishing. Honkanen was hired as the leader of one association in 1997/98, and he introduced recycling as a profitable activity. First of all, household goods were sold at a flea market, and then computers became more of the items being dismantled, reused and recycled. Opportunities with the new WEEE laws coming into effect, and collaborations with the Municipality of Helsinki, drove growth of the officially registered association. Companies in Finland must comply with the strict recycling laws, and this solution provides a way for them to recycle at low cost.
Case Description:
(source: Lindsay Kenzig & Cindy Kohtala, 2005)
The main goal of the association is to provide work for unemployed, rehabilitated, immigrant and/ or disabled people. The second goal of the association is to ‘promote the policy of sustainable development by increasing the life cycle of consumer goods, by finding new ways of recycling, and by boosting the recycling activities in Helsinki area’, and it runs a second-hand store selling the goods. Other benefits: employment is kept local, workers have high motivation, and immigrants are able to adapt to Finnish working culture. 30% of workers find employment after working here. The scheme reduces a large amount of industrial and consumer waste, and provides household goods to the community and disadvantaged countries at reasonable prices. In the future, it hopes to collaborate even more with artists and designers in reusing material that cannot be recycled.
A private limited company “social firm” (called Neo-Act Ltd) has recently been registered and activities will move from the non-profit association to the social firm. Its dual mission is to create jobs while making a profit according to legal social firm regulations. This association seems to be well organised and appropriate to its culture and society. The Job and Action Association cooperates with other Finnish social firms (supported by the national ‘Elware’ project) and is also part of the European-wide network, RReuse, a network of social firms operating in a similar way.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits):
Society. There are many benefits for individuals working in this sustainable, enthusiastic place. From the consumer’s point of view, there is the benefit of recycling unwanted goods, and of buying products at reasonable prices. Putting immigrants to work (currently 35 nationalities) in society alongside Finns helps create a more multicultural and open-minded atmosphere, and allows them to develop skills and contacts not otherwise possible.
Environment. The environmental benefits are clear, with the repair/reuse of products, extending their lifespan, and material recycling. Between 25 and 40 tons of material comes through the operation per month, with about four tons of computers received per week from the government alone. J&A’s burning of plastic generates enough energy to heat 17 houses in Finland a year.
